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The G8’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition aims to lift 50 million people out of poverty in ten years through a partnership between G8 members, African nations and the private sector. In order to increase production at a rate needed to achieve food security, the New Alliance seeks to accelerate responsible investment in African agriculture and commit to coordinated policy reforms. Each of the nine New Alliance countries (Benin, Malawi, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania) have developed Cooperation Frameworks with G8 and private sector partners that outline their shared commitments and responsibilities. The New Alliance recognizes that good land governance is critical to improving food security and nutrition; each country’s cooperation framework details commitments to strengthening land tenure and resource governance. Under the New Alliance, partners commit to support the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security and develop pilot programs for their implementation. The cooperation frameworks and key policy commitments related to land governance in each of the New Alliance countries are below. Burkina Faso’s key policy commitments include providing incentives for private sector investment in agriculture; establishing and operating rural land agencies and village land commissions in 302 rural districts; drafting transparent procedures for access to land in state or local government-developed areas; delineating and registering the land areas already developed; and issuing documents relative to land use rights in all the developed areas, including for women.New Alliance Cooperation Framework (English) / FrenchUSAID's Land and Resource Tenure Profile for Burkina Faso Cote d’Ivoire’s key policy commitments include securing rural land tenure and facilitating access to land for smallholder farmers and private enterprises; demarcating village lands and issuing land tenure certificates; extending and operationalizing the land information system (SIF); and strengthening the capacity of all agencies involved in implementing the Rural Land Act.New Alliance Cooperation Framework (English) / FrenchUSAID's Land and Resource Tenure Profile for Cote d’Ivoire Ethiopia is committed to developing and implementing a transparent land tenure policy; strengthening land use rights to stimulate investment in agriculture; extending land certification to all rural land holders, initially focusing on Agricultural Growth Program (AGP) districts (woredas); refining land law, if necessary, to encourage long-term land leasing and strengthen contract enforcement for commercial farms; and further developing and implementing guidelines of corporate responsibility for land tenure and responsible agricultural investment.New Alliance Cooperation FrameworkUSAID's Land and Resource Tenure Profile for Ethiopia Ghana’s commitments include providing incentives for private sector investment in agriculture and developing a database of suitable land for investors.New Alliance Cooperation FrameworkUSAID's Land and Resource Tenure Profile for Ghana Mozambique’s key policy commitments include developing and improving the transparency and efficiency of land policy and land administration; developing innovative methods for increasing the availability and access to credit by smallholders; reforming land use rights (DUAT) system and accelerate issuance of DUATs to allow smallholders (women and men) to secure tenure and to promote agribusiness investment.New Alliance Cooperation Framework (English) / Portuguese USAID's Land and Resource Tenure Profile for Mozambique Tanzania’s key policy commitments include developing and implementing a transparent land tenure policy; providing certificates of land rights (statutory or customary) for smallholders and investors; and developing an instrument that clarifies roles of land implementing agencies.New Alliance Cooperation FrameworkUSAID's Land and Resource Tenure Profile for Tanzania Nigeria’s key policy commitments include adopting a Systematic Land Titling and Registration (SLTR) process that respects FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests.New Alliance Cooperation FrameworkUSAID's Land and Resource Tenure Profile for Nigeria Benin’s key policy commitments include facilitating and safeguarding access to and use of land; extending the development of rural land ownership plans to cover the entire country; and setting up a trustworthy information system on rural land ownership.New Alliance Cooperation Framework Malawi’s key policy commitments include improving access to land, water and basic infrastructure to support food security and nutrition. The Government of Malawi has also committed to enact a new land bill by June 2015.New Alliance Cooperation FrameworkUSAID's Land and Resource Tenure Profile for Malawi There is growing recognition among governments, civil society organizations and the media that clear, secure land tenure and property rights are a necessary condition for achieving food security and better nutrition. Devex is currently hosting a month-long campaign--“Land Matters”--which examines why and how land tenure and property rights are related to a variety of critical development issues, beginning with food security. According to Dr. Gregory Myers, USAID Division Chief, Land Tenure and Property Rights, “secure property rights create positive incentives that enable more efficient and effective investment in land, labor, capital, and improved practices in food production and nutrition.” Visit the Land Matters campaign site
